Dave Ramsey and buying a house.

[Anonymous]

I like Dave - he's entertaining for the most part, although quite repetitive (and he admits it since his principles are pretty basic). That said, I definitely pick and choose which of his principles I follow and I try to FF through the Jesus talk. I paid down all debt (while still contributing to retirement) except a 0% car loan. The cash on hand just means more to me. Also, I would never try to get my credit score to 0. As others have said, that's unrealistic.

Dave did motivate me to increase my overall retirement contributions and put more money into other savings vehicles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe he said he was born and raised in TN and hasn't lived anywhere else therefore, I don't agree with him on the not having a credit score either like other posters.

Where I live, the chances of you getting a house and/or car with no credit score is pretty slim.

I also continue to contribute to my retirement while in baby step 2. I will not stop that.

$1000 emergency fund is not enough for me either. I have more than that plus I continue to save. I'm not saving a huge amount but I still put something in my savings each paycheck.

If you are following his advice you do not need a good credit score to purchase a car because you are paying cash

[Anonymous]

Dave's advise is not applicable to the DC area where job loss is non existent, housing is high and so are incomes

[Anonymous]

Every apartment I've ever rented has required a credit score check and no one that doesn't have family money is going to be able to buy a house in this area right away if they even want to own a home. That alone makes the credit score thing a nonstarter. I'm not going to pitch a tent by the highway just so I can avoid having to maintain a decent credit score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe he said he was born and raised in TN and hasn't lived anywhere else therefore, I don't agree with him on the not having a credit score either like other posters.

Where I live, the chances of you getting a house and/or car with no credit score is pretty slim.

I also continue to contribute to my retirement while in baby step 2. I will not stop that.

$1000 emergency fund is not enough for me either. I have more than that plus I continue to save. I'm not saving a huge amount but I still put something in my savings each paycheck.

If you are following his advice you do not need a good credit score to purchase a car because you are paying cash

Credit score is used in much more than buying a car or getting a mortgage. Insurance companies use them to determine rates and, increasingly, companies use them to determine whether an applicant is "responsible" for a job. There are many sides to that argument and it has been widely reported in the past few years, but those are facts and to deny them is insane. Until credit scores are made obsolete, one should do everything in their power to keep their score as high as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe he said he was born and raised in TN and hasn't lived anywhere else therefore, I don't agree with him on the not having a credit score either like other posters.

Where I live, the chances of you getting a house and/or car with no credit score is pretty slim.

I also continue to contribute to my retirement while in baby step 2. I will not stop that.

$1000 emergency fund is not enough for me either. I have more than that plus I continue to save. I'm not saving a huge amount but I still put something in my savings each paycheck.

Ok. So you don't do his plan. And that's fine.

[Anonymous]

I think not using credit cards is a good idea for people who have no self control. As I have no problem with spending and can pay off my credit card each month, I still use one.

I think trying to buy a house here with manual underwriting is stupid and hope people in this area aren't dumb enough to follow that piece of advice.

[Anonymous]

I think you can follow the "spirit" of his rules without following each piece of guidance to the letter. In this area, especially if you own a home, it's easy to see where a larger "starter" emergency fund would be wise. So instead of $1k, start with $3k. If you go from there and get all your debts paid off, you'll be in better financial shape than most around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He believes in Jesus and talks about it. What else do you need to know to show that he hasn't a clue?

Yeah this part bothers me too. I don't know why it needs to be involved in financial talk. It's misplaced and in my opinion makes him see out of touch with other people's beliefs.

A huge part of his market is churches--churches will offer childcare so parents can come and do the workshops. He knows his audience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think not using credit cards is a good idea for people who have no self control. As I have no problem with spending and can pay off my credit card each month, I still use one.

I think trying to buy a house here with manual underwriting is stupid and hope people in this area aren't dumb enough to follow that piece of advice.

It's not just dumb-it simply will not work here. Ever. Your offer will be the weakest every single time. With houses getting multiple offers you would be totally screwed. But regardless even if you are the only offer I would suspect the sellers agent would advise the sellers not to take it and wait for one that has customary financing.

It's just simply not feasible here and I really can't think of any area in which people actually want to live that it would be.

I understand the whole goal of Dave is to be able to pay cash for everything and have no debt but in reality not having an excellent credit score takes away so many opportunities. Unless you are a millionaire already there is no way to live here without credit.

I would love to know these places that people are renting/buying that don't require credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think not using credit cards is a good idea for people who have no self control. As I have no problem with spending and can pay off my credit card each month, I still use one.

I think trying to buy a house here with manual underwriting is stupid and hope people in this area aren't dumb enough to follow that piece of advice.

It's not just dumb-it simply will not work here. Ever. Your offer will be the weakest every single time. With houses getting multiple offers you would be totally screwed. But regardless even if you are the only offer I would suspect the sellers agent would advise the sellers not to take it and wait for one that has customary financing.

It's just simply not feasible here and I really can't think of any area in which people actually want to live that it would be.

I understand the whole goal of Dave is to be able to pay cash for everything and have no debt but in reality not having an excellent credit score takes away so many opportunities. Unless you are a millionaire already there is no way to live here without credit.

I would love to know these places that people are renting/buying that don't require credit.

You can follow the basics of his philosophy and still buy a house. Like a pp said, don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Paying off your debts will get you a good credit score. It takes years of not using credit at all to get a zero credit score like Dave has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think not using credit cards is a good idea for people who have no self control. As I have no problem with spending and can pay off my credit card each month, I still use one.

I think trying to buy a house here with manual underwriting is stupid and hope people in this area aren't dumb enough to follow that piece of advice.

It's not just dumb-it simply will not work here. Ever. Your offer will be the weakest every single time. With houses getting multiple offers you would be totally screwed. But regardless even if you are the only offer I would suspect the sellers agent would advise the sellers not to take it and wait for one that has customary financing.

It's just simply not feasible here and I really can't think of any area in which people actually want to live that it would be.

I understand the whole goal of Dave is to be able to pay cash for everything and have no debt but in reality not having an excellent credit score takes away so many opportunities. Unless you are a millionaire already there is no way to live here without credit.

I would love to know these places that people are renting/buying that don't require credit.

You can follow the basics of his philosophy and still buy a house. Like a pp said, don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Paying off your debts will get you a good credit score. It takes years of not using credit at all to get a zero credit score like Dave has.

Yes I know but he also recommends closing your cards which in turn will actually lower your credit score. Better to have the credit available and unused. I feel bad for the people who call into him because he always has the same answer for everything and he doesn't get that some of his principles just simply don't work in some peoples situations. Then he just yells at people and makes them feel like crap. But to him it's so simple and easy. I guess it's all easy when you are a millionaire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe he said he was born and raised in TN and hasn't lived anywhere else therefore, I don't agree with him on the not having a credit score either like other posters.

Where I live, the chances of you getting a house and/or car with no credit score is pretty slim.

I also continue to contribute to my retirement while in baby step 2. I will not stop that.

$1000 emergency fund is not enough for me either. I have more than that plus I continue to save. I'm not saving a huge amount but I still put something in my savings each paycheck.

Ok. So you don't do his plan. And that's fine.

I also posted earlier at 20:35; go back and read what I said

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe he said he was born and raised in TN and hasn't lived anywhere else therefore, I don't agree with him on the not having a credit score either like other posters.

Where I live, the chances of you getting a house and/or car with no credit score is pretty slim.

I also continue to contribute to my retirement while in baby step 2. I will not stop that.

$1000 emergency fund is not enough for me either. I have more than that plus I continue to save. I'm not saving a huge amount but I still put something in my savings each paycheck.

Ok. So you don't do his plan. And that's fine.

I also posted earlier at 20:35; go back and read what I said

Right. We agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think not using credit cards is a good idea for people who have no self control. As I have no problem with spending and can pay off my credit card each month, I still use one.

I think trying to buy a house here with manual underwriting is stupid and hope people in this area aren't dumb enough to follow that piece of advice.

It's not just dumb-it simply will not work here. Ever. Your offer will be the weakest every single time. With houses getting multiple offers you would be totally screwed. But regardless even if you are the only offer I would suspect the sellers agent would advise the sellers not to take it and wait for one that has customary financing.

It's just simply not feasible here and I really can't think of any area in which people actually want to live that it would be.

I understand the whole goal of Dave is to be able to pay cash for everything and have no debt but in reality not having an excellent credit score takes away so many opportunities. Unless you are a millionaire already there is no way to live here without credit.

I would love to know these places that people are renting/buying that don't require credit.

You can follow the basics of his philosophy and still buy a house. Like a pp said, don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Paying off your debts will get you a good credit score. It takes years of not using credit at all to get a zero credit score like Dave has.

Yes I know but he also recommends closing your cards which in turn will actually lower your credit score. Better to have the credit available and unused. I feel bad for the people who call into him because he always has the same answer for everything and he doesn't get that some of his principles just simply don't work in some peoples situations. Then he just yells at people and makes them feel like crap. But to him it's so simple and easy. I guess it's all easy when you are a millionaire.

Umm, he wasn't always a millionaire. He used to be deep in debt.